St Louis Rams Day 2 NFL Draft needs

April 26th, 2008 | by Kevin Morris |

Going in to the draft the Rams had need at the following positions:

Left tackle: The Rams’ offensive line was atrocious last season.  Many players were lost due to injury, and the guys who managed to stay in one piece nearly got quarterback Marc Bulger shattered into thousands of them.  They didn’t do any favors for the ground game; the running backs were limited to an average of 3.78 yards per carry.

Defensive end: Though the skill-position players still get all of the attention, the game of football is won and lost at the line of scrimmage.  While not nearly as bad as the offensive line, the Rams’ defensive line could use an upgrade, too.  They were 21st in the league in sacks last season, and 19th in opponent’s yards per rushing attempt, with 4.14.  Their best defensive end, Leonard Little, is on the wrong side of 30, and James Hall was released earlier this year.  Currently the Rams have only two other players at the position — Eric Moore and Victor Adeyanju.

Guard: The interior of the Rams’ offensive line needs almost a complete revamping.  Jacob Bell has been added via free agency, and Richie Incognito has potential.

Linebacker: After letting Brandon Chillar leave via free agency, the Rams are extremely thin at the position.  Quinton Culberson, a second-year player who was undrafted out of college, currently is listed as the starter on the strong side.  Weakside linebacker is also a concern; Pisa Tinoisamoa has promise, but he has had injuries the past two seasons.  The other guy in the mix is Chris Draft.

Wide Receiver: With Isaac Bruce cut and lingering concerns about Torry Holt’s knee, the Rams need to add some depth.  The Rams would likely look for a burner or an excellent route-runner like Donnie Avery (Houston) or Earl Bennett (Vanderbilt).

Cornerback: In the last three drafts, the Rams have selected three different cornerbacks on the first day.  To date, however, none of the picks (Ron Bartell, Tye Hill, Jonathon Wade) have proven to be lock-down corners.  They have each shown flashes of brilliance, but they have not been able to perform consistently at that high level.  Look for the Rams to look for a cornerback who can fight for the nickel position as a rookie.

Quarterback: After signing a contract extension that included nearly $30 million in guarantees, Marc Bulger battled injuries throughout the year, threw more interceptions than in each of the past three seasons, and completed a career-low 58.5 percent of his passes.  Last year’s backup, Gus Frerotte, was cut, and he’ll be replaced by an aging veteran with a chronic case of bumpus-on-the-nogginus, otherwise known as Trent Green.

Having addressed Defensive End and Wide Receiver already, I think they have to address the o-line and linebakers on day 2.  A cornerback would not hurt either.  In the later rounds I am all for selecting the best athlete on the board, let’s just hope that the athletes that fall to the Rams are players of need.

According to ESPN this draft is strong in rounds 3-6 with many players in those rounds being of similar rankings.  The Rams have a good chance to shore up some weak spots in the draft, it is not about finding depth any more…we need starters!

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